"Hahaha... You exhausted all your strength just to cripple me? How hilarious."

  I laughed, my voice echoing across the ruined battlefield. Before me, six figures hovered in the air, their once-haughty expressions now soured with frustration. To them, I must have seemed pathetic—wounded, barely able to sit upright against the boulder supporting my broken body. But to me, they were nothing but fools.

  How could I not laugh? These so-called deities had sacrificed their life essence, pushed themselves to their limits, and yet they still failed to kill me. It was beyond amusing.

  A figure shrouded in blinding light stepped forward. "You're still arrogant even at death's door?"

  I grinned. "What, did you expect me to beg for mercy? To weep and wail?"

  "You—!" His face flushed red with rage. My laughter only grew louder.

  "Enough!" A woman clothed in twisting wooden vines spoke, her emerald eyes filled with disdain. "We’re not here to waste time. Tell us where you've hidden the treasure."

  A sudden realization struck me, and my amusement dimmed. "I see now. This is all for that? You betrayed me—slaughtered billions of my people—just for that treasure?"

  A deep, rough voice rumbled. "We gave you a choice. Had you surrendered peacefully, there would have been no bloodshed. You forced our hand."

  I turned my bloodshot eyes to the one clad in stone armor. "You dare justify genocide as my fault?" My voice trembled with fury.

  Darkness stirred at my call, vibrating like a living thing. Shadowy tendrils solidified around me, glowing with a violet hue as they pulsed with raw power.

  Authority: Domain of Darkness.

  I prepared to unleash oblivion upon them.

  "Halt."

  The command resonated through the void, and in an instant, my power dissipated. The presence of the First Origin made itself known.

  Unlike the others, he did not hover above me in superiority. He stood on the ground, gazing at me with neither malice nor triumph. He alone had walked alongside the Creator longer than any of us.

  A sneer curled my lips. "Even you? Is this treasure truly worth betraying everything?"

  His expression remained unreadable. "That treasure was created by Him alone, and in terms of value, it rivals the universe itself. If you surrender it, we will seal it away, ensuring it never falls into the wrong hands."

  I glanced at the others. Their hunger, their greed, was plain to see. They were the wrong hands.

  A slow smirk crept across my face. "Fine. I'll give it to you."

  Their surprise was evident. "Really?" The being of light narrowed his eyes. "Then hurry up. We don't have all day."

  Ignoring him, I extended a hand. A black limb emerged from the surrounding shadows, clutching something unseen. Six pairs of eyes locked onto it; anticipation was palpable.

  But the hand did not open.

  Impatience flared. "Dark Lord! We are not in the mood for games!" the woman of vines snapped.

  "Patience," I murmured. "I need preparation."

  "Preparation? What are you—"

  "Everyone, retreat! NOW!"

  The First Origin’s warning came too late.

  Time slowed. My perception heightened. A brilliant, blinding light erupted from my body, expanding outward in a shockwave of destruction.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  For the first time, I witnessed the all-mighty Origins scrambling in desperation.

  I grinned, satisfied. This wouldn’t kill them, but it would make them suffer. A small price for the billions they had murdered.

  Still, it wasn’t enough. If only I had another chance, I would have ensured their complete annihilation.

  Pain flared. My body crumbled, dissolving into nothingness. The treasure’s power was beyond comprehension—capable of erasing even one of the Seven Origins with a single use.

  We were supposed to be flawless creations, eternal beings capable of regeneration. But this... this was true death.

  How ironic. A god experiencing what only mortals should.

  Then, suddenly—

  [Detected: Host in critical condition.]

  A voice. Cold, distant, female.

  [Analyzing. Searching for optimal solution.]

  What—?

  [Solution found. Initiating reincarnation.]

  I stiffened. This voice—it wasn’t just in my head. It was within my soul itself.

  Realization dawned.

  The treasure had merged with me.

  I struggled, but I was powerless against it. My very essence bent to its will, reshaped like clay in unseen hands.

  Panic set in. A soul is fragile. A single mistake could shatter it forever. And yet, this entity twisted mine as if it were nothing.

  The agony was unbearable.

  Damn it... Damn it! DAMN IT!

  Then—

  Nothing.

  I ceased to exist.

  And as my consciousness faded, the light from my explosion expanded, consuming an entire galaxy.

  The explosion was so devastating that it didn’t diminish for millennia.

  In the near future, this place would be named God’s Warground due to how the whole galaxy was ruined as if a battle between gods had taken place.

  …

  ….

  I felt my whole body floating in darkness. The familiar coldness was not uncomfortable for me; in fact, I could just lay here and sleep, if not for what was happening right now.

  As far as I could remember, didn’t I die by that damn treasure’s doing? Why am I still alive? Where am I?

  All I could see was never-ending darkness. If I had to guess, this place must be where my realm of consciousness is. As for why I knew that? It was just a feeling, but I was fairly certain of it.

  A bright light caught the side of my eye. I saw it getting brighter as it got closer to where I was. Soon enough, it was near enough that I could make out what the bright light was.

  The light was actually just the aura released by an old ancient paper, rolled up. This old paper was something I could never forget. It was the very reason I was in this state right now.

  Yes, it was that damned treasure that crushed my soul to death!!

  “Hey, you! What was the deal earlier?! Do you know how painful it was to have your soul kneaded like dough being prepared to bake?!”

  […]

  “Don’t just stay quiet there! I know you can understand me. What do you have to say for yourself, huh?!”

  [It was a necessary procedure.]

  “...”

  I was speechless at this cold voice. It was an object in the first place; how could I expect it to have emotion?

  “Oh well,” I shook my head in helplessness. “Let’s leave it at that.”

  “You said it was a procedure, and that reminds me—you also mentioned something similar. Can you elaborate?”

  I squinted my suspicious eyes at this treasure.

  [I sensed the Host was in a dangerous situation; hence I immediately activated a skill called Reincarnation.]

  Reincarnation? Isn’t that the systematic process of a mortal’s life and death cycle? I couldn’t believe this treasure had the ability to send someone’s soul there at its own will. Not only that, but apparently, it allowed the target to retain the memories of their previous life.

  If a mortal possessed this, they could rebirth themselves however many times they wanted—they’d practically be immortal!

  “Does that mean I am at the soul streamline right now?”

  [Affirmative.]

  “Does that mean I’m about to reincarnate soon?”

  [Precisely.]

  How… disappointing.

  This treasure surely didn’t stick to me just on a whim; it must have a goal in mind. Honestly, I thought being dead would let me have a long rest, so I wasn’t that against it, but now it seems to be vanishing in front of my eyes.

  The will of a treasure that was created by the Creator is also His will. As a being likewise created by Him, I can’t exactly refuse it. The issue was it would definitely not be a small matter. Basically, it would be really troublesome.

  I sighed heavily. “I have a suspicion, but I’ll ask anyway. What are you exactly?”

  [I am the Soul Record. I hold records of all things within the cosmos. The core of this entire universe.]

  …I expected it, but this turned out to be a bigger deal than I thought. Anyway, why would He dump something like the core of the universe onto me?! What if I accidentally broke it?

  “By the way, what if you were destroyed? What would happen?”

  [The universe would collapse, and all things within would perish.]

  Damn it! Now I have to treat this treasure very carefully, or else everyone will die.

  [Another thing is, once you die, I will die along with you.]

  “What?! Don’t drop something like that out of nowhere! It’s a relief you reincarnated me, or I might have implicated all living things in the universe just because I wanted to rest!”

  Somehow, I’m gradually understanding why the First Origin is desperate to seal this treasure. Should I also consider it?

  [If you are planning to seal me, then I recommend you give that up. I am intertwined with your soul; to seal me, you will have to seal yourself along with me.]

  “…”

  How exhausting. I’ve never been this fatigued in my whole life; even my job as a ruler wasn’t this tiring.

  Well, let’s look at the bright side. I will be reincarnated as a mortal; that’s a new experience! And I’m sure those betrayers are still alive; I still have a grudge to pay.